Bag or Treat Dispenser for Waste Collector

ABSTRACT

A dual purpose vessel having a dispenser with a cover sleeve assembly mounted to a base. The base is fixed onto the end of a handle. Bags or treats are stored inside the dispenser and dispensed through serrated slots in the dispenser and the cover sleeve.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims one or more inventions which were disclosed inProvisional Application No. 62/099,741, filed Jan. 5, 2015, entitled“Waste Collector with Dispenser”. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) ofthe United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and theaforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to canisters and dispensers for pet wastedisposable bags on rolls. It also relates to canisters and dispensersfor small pet treats. More particularly, it pertains to an improvementto a single container that can store and dispense either bag rolls orpet treats.

2. Description of Related Art

Dispensers for bags and treats add convenience when exercising a dog.This eliminates the hassle every time of having to fumble around lookingfor bags or forgetting to take one when taking out Rover. Also, it wouldbe nice to have the option to have treats with you to reward Rover forhis good behavior. Further, if a pooper scooper is taken along, it wouldbe an advantage and convenient to have the device as an integral part ofit. As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuous need for anew and improved fixed dispenser that addresses some of thedisadvantages of tearing off bags from a roll and could also be used fordispensing pellets.

The most common device for carrying and dispensing pet waste bags andtreats when exercising a dog is a simple canister. Roll bags are verycommon today. Typically fifteen bags of various colors and textures arelink together with perforations and rolled onto a core. The canisterscome in different shapes and sizes and can be carried on a leash orother convenient device. There are a few problems that can occur whendispensing bags from these canisters. First, threading the initial bagcan sometimes be challenging because of the closed ended slots oropenings for bag dispensing from the canister. Second, tearing asubsequent bag from the roll can also be a challenge and is moredifficult with a stronger weighted bag. Properly tearing a bag off atthe perforation is essential in order to keep next bag from pulling outof the canister prematurely. In most cases a bag requires two hands totear it from the roll. This requires the bag to be pulled out of thedispenser beyond the perforation which leads to the next bag on the rollto hang out from the canister. Third, if bags need to be rewrapped ontothe spool, this could also be a little cumbersome to do and many timesthe roll must be removed and rethreaded again. At times the canistercaps fail and roll bags or treats fall out during a walk. Also thehanging clips can fail and the canisters can fall and get lost.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,452 to Pauley describes an invention for dispensingof tissue where the tearing of the tissue at the perforation is not arequirement. This device a closed ended slot that when threading a newroll could be a little tricky. Finally, the anterior cylinder isnon-rotational.

PCT International Application publication WO2014/031940 to Williamsdescribes a bag dispensing system with an outside plastic tube for thepurpose of keeping the bags from sticking out. The anterior tube canrotate 360 degrees and has a disadvantage of jamming If a new bag getspulled out too far after a bag was just torn off, the new bag hangingout could get wrapped around the inside dispenser by rotating theoutside plastic tube too far. Bags would need to be removed andrethreaded to ready the device for use.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,134 to Dancy provides a dispenser with one closedend slot with an anterior sleeve. Dispensing a bag is done be squeezingthe outside of the device to keep the roll still, when a bag isdispensed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A dual purpose vessel comprising a dispenser with a cover sleeveassembly mounted to a base. The base is fixed onto the end of a handle.Bags or pellets are stored inside the dispenser and dispensed throughserrated slots or ports in the dispenser and the cover sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of Container/Dispenser System dispensinga bag

FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of Container/Dispenser System dispensingpellets

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the invention

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the invention

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the Cover Sleeve and Dispenser

FIG. 6a shows a front view of the Cover Sleeve and Dispenser in Homeposition

FIG. 6b shows a front cross sectional view of the Cover Sleeve

FIG. 7 shows the front view of the Container/Dispenser system in homeposition

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The Container/Dispenser System (100) is comprised of a Base (140)attached to a Dispenser (130) and a Cover Sleeve (110). The cover sleeve(110) is held into position on the dispenser (130) with cover sleeveinterior upper groove (113) holding dispenser exterior upper track(133). Also, there is a cover sleeve interior lower track (114) fittingin a dispenser exterior lower groove (134).

The cover sleeve will rotate 45 degrees from home position FIG. 7. withthe help of the dispenser exterior round key slot key (136) and thecover sleeve interior lower round stop tab (115). The dispenser exteriorbushing (135) prevents the cover from rotating beyond the key points.

This system is fixed to a pet waste collector such as the GoGo Stik®Waste Collector from AB Innovations of Syracuse, N.Y., at the end of thehandle (150). The top of the cover sleeve has a loop hanger (119) thatallows the cover sleeve to be removed, replaced or rotated. It alsoprovides the pet scooper with the ability to hang up on a wall hook.

This invention deals with a dispensing canister that will dispensestandard roll bags and address these problems. As mentioned, anotheradvantage of this canister is that it can dispense treats or pellets.

This invention provides for a device that can double for either a bagroll dispenser or a treat dispenser. The bag dispenser has improvementsover the simple canister, closed ended dispensing slots. A serrated openend slot configuration on the dispenser and serrated open end slot onthe cover sleeve assist in tearing a bag off and keeping the remainingbags secure. Threading of bags is simpler and easier.

A roll of bags (121) is placed in the cylindrical dispenser (130) ontothe center spindle (122) while threading the first bag edge (120) intothe top of the open slot (132) in the wall of the dispenser (130). Oncein position, the cylindrical cover sleeve (110) is placed into positionover the dispenser (130) while guiding the threaded bag up and throughthe bottom end of the cover sleeve open slot (112) in the wall of thecover sleeve (110). Both the dispenser and cover sleeve slots line upand be in the home position FIG. 7, when done. The roll freely rotatesin the canister and torn off at the perforation when bags are dispensed.

Tearing off a bag for use is done by pulling the bag out of the slots(132), (112) until the perforation before the next bag is seen. Thecover sleeve (110) can be rotated 45 degrees clockwise or 45 degreescounter clockwise FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. from home position The cover sleevewill snap into one of these positions through the use of the coversleeve round slot key (115) and the dispenser matching round slot (136)from home position.

When in position, a bag can be torn from the device utilizing bothserrated slot edges from the cover sleeve (110) and dispenser (130). Thenarrow dispenser serrated slot also helps in stabilizing the bag frommoving while the narrow serrated cover sleeve slot helps in the tearingof the bag off of the roll at the perforation.

As a treat dispenser FIG. 2., the dispenser is held at up at an anglethat assists in the filling of the dispenser with pellets (160). Thedispenser port is facing up such that a finger can block the port whenfilling. Once filled, the cover sleeve (110) is placed onto thedispenser (130) in the home position (FIG. 7) where both concentricslots and ports line up. The pellet dispensing position is at the homeposition. Both the dispenser port (131) and the cover sleeve port (111)are open to allow treats to dispense from the canister FIG. 2. When donedispensing, the cover sleeve can be rotated either 45 degrees clockwiseor 45 degrees counter clockwise to close off the ports.

The Dispenser provides:

-   -   1. A serrated open ended slot that aids in threading roll bags;    -   2. A serrated slot that aids in tearing bags from a roll at the        perforation in conjunction with the cover sleeve serrated slot;    -   3. A port for dispensing pellets when the device is used for        pellets rather than bag.        The cover sleeve provides multiple advantages:    -   1. The serrated open end slot allows for easy bag threading;    -   2. The serrated slot assists in the tear off of a bag at the        bags' perforations and works with the dispenser serrated slot;    -   3. The inside tabs on either side of the port allow the cover to        snap into place when rotated 45 degrees from home position        either clockwise or counter clockwise. This helps to keep bags        from wrapping around the inside dispenser and keeps the device        from jamming The leading tab aligns and rests in the key slot on        the dispenser. This keeps the cover sleeve in place while the        lagging tab pinches the bag leader against the outer dispenser        wall as it exits through the port;    -   4. The rotating cover closes off the dispenser port if the        device is used in dispensing pellets.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theinvention herein described are merely illustrative of the application ofthe principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of theillustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of theclaims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential tothe invention.

List of Reference Numbers 100 Container/Dispenser System for treatdispensing system 110 Cover Sleeve 111 Cover Sleeve Port 112 CoverSleeve Serrated Slot 113 Cover Sleeve interior upper groove 114 CoverSleeve interior lower track 115 Cover Sleeve interior lower stop tab 119Cover Sleeve Loop 120 Plastic Bag 121 Plastic Bag Roll 122 Roll TaperedDowel 130 Dispenser 131 Dispenser Port 132 Dispenser Serrated Slot 133Dispenser Exterior Upper Track 134 Dispenser Exterior Lower Groove 135Dispenser Exterior Bushing/Track 136 Dispenser Exterior Round Slot/Key140 Base 150 Handle 160 Pellets

What is claimed is:
 1. A dispenser for mounting to a handle of a wastecollector, comprising: a) a base having a mount for attaching the baseto an end of the handle of the waste collector; b) a cylindricaldispenser attached to the base, having a wall enclosing an open interiorand an open slot and port through the wall; and c) a cylindrical coversleeve coaxially surrounding the cylindrical dispenser, rotatablymounted to the cylindrical dispenser, having a wall with an open slotand port; the open slot of the cylindrical dispenser and the open slotof the cylindrical cover sleeve being sized such that when the open slotand port in the wall of the cylindrical cover sleeve is rotated to alignwith the open slot and port in the wall of the cylindrical dispenser,objects stored in the open interior of the dispenser can be dispensedthrough the aligned open slots or ports of the cylindrical dispenser andthe cylindrical cover sleeve.
 2. The dispenser of claim 1, in which thecylindrical dispenser further comprises a spindle for holding rolls ofbags, mounted in the open interior of the cylindrical dispenser.
 3. Thedispenser of claim 1, in which the open slot of the cylindricaldispenser is serrated.
 4. The dispenser of claim 1, in which the openslot of the cylindrical cover sleeve is serrated.
 5. The dispenser ofclaim 1, in which the cylindrical cover sleeve is mounted to thecylindrical dispenser through a cover sleeve interior upper groovefitting on a dispenser exterior upper track and a cover sleeve interiorlower track fitting in a dispenser exterior lower groove.
 6. Thedispenser of claim 1, in which rotation of the cylindrical cover sleeverelative to the cylindrical dispenser is limited by a key slot key onthe cylindrical dispenser locking in a cover sleeve stop tab.
 7. Thedispenser of claim 1, further comprising a loop hangar on thecylindrical cover sleeve.